Lynette Richau Blog Post 2 Routman Ch. 4 Teach with a Sense of Urgency

Routman explains that teaching with a sense of urgency means to make every moment count, use evaluation and reflection to make wise teaching choices to move students ahead.  In this chapter Routman provides a great framework of what should be important and focused on in order for our students to be successful.  An excellent classroom library is mentioned again as a necessity.  I always felt my students learned more through authentic, explicit and purposeful teaching/modeling.  I have never been a fan of structured reading programs because one size does not fit all.  Providing a literacy rich environment and knowing my students strengths and weaknesses allows me to differentiate my instruction and teach them where they are providing the skills and strategies they need to become successful readers and writers.  I especially liked the section on language acquisition and all the wonderful suggestions/strategies that I can implement in my own classroom.  What I want to change: No more skills in isolation--I knew it wasn't working!  I want to do more interactive reading with my students to help deepen their thinking.  I also want to come up with some ideas for our own class books to read and share.  I have even made a list to reflect on to make sure I am staying on track with my teaching and the goals I want to achieve.  A great chapter to really make you stop and reflect on what is important and to evaluate what you are doing well and what you need to improve upon.  I love how Routman really spells it out very clearly and gives you tips and strategies along the way.

Amanda Fortenberry-Reading Essentials Routman Ch.10: Examine Guided Reading

Reading Routman's Chapter 10 guided me in the how to of "Guided Reading" and confirms the way it's been working in my classroom also fits into the "Optimal Learning Model" of reading.  Something I read that differs from my classroom is that the grouping of students is not grouped according to similar reading proficiencies (ie STAR data that we use) but rather Routman believes readers need to vary in grouping because they can learn from each other (especially in elementary upper grades).  The chapter clarifies grouping, reading strategies, and gives model lessons for different grade levels K-4 for guided reading before, during, and after.  Guided reading is an important step in "moving the child toward independence" but Routman conveys that independent reading is most important in our reading schedules of the day and students need to read more than practice skills.  I am seeing that same important statement through lots of professional development books.  In this particular one, the chapter reiterates the students' independence is gained through help of teachers knowing when to teach and when to let go.  This process kind of reminds me of what people say in parenthood...from toddlers pulling up to walking, driving, going on the first date, etc.  In doing this independence evaluation, Routman suggests ways we need to discuss with the students on how to become independent through teacher talks, text connections, literature circles, and if we must, minimize guided lessons in order for students to practice reading to self and for us to strategically plan the best use of time in teaching language and reading independently or in small groups during guided reading.  Routman gives many thoughts on ability grouping and believes it should definitely stop in the grades above 2nd grade as he says, "I worry about the message such grouping sends to students-a message that they are somehow less capable.  If you group by ability, make sure you keep it short (ten to fifteen minutes) and provide daily opportunities for more-varied groups-whole class shared reading, heterogeneous small groups, partner reading, and independent reading."  I like the different models of the reading block in this chapter and the cautions Routman gives when grouping students, choosing book quality, scheduling, planning, and ways of assessing.  Ideas he mentioned, I've heard before, but reading again for myself and making a note and plan to do these ideas, will help my readers grow in their independent reading practices also.  Such ideas of guided reading involve literature circles, conversations, and journals to name a few.  These help with making connections, understanding texts, and being actively engaged in the reading process.  Similar to Moss and Miller's book, Routman gives a framework for guided reading lessons, how to evaluate oneself as a student during a lesson, and how to assess as the teacher.  Final thoughts on my classroom framework: I plan to work on a daily morning message, MORE read alouds, and increase daily teacher talks.  

Lynette Richau's Blog post 1 Routman CH. 5 Organize an Outstanding Library

I started my reading with Routman's Ch. 5, Organize an Outstanding Library!  I loved what Routman said about libraries being a necessary staple and not an optional add-on!!  I know that for me, my classroom library has always been a focus.  Any chance I get to invest in my library I do.  Routman even correlates reading achievement to how good the library is.  I knew it was always a priority for me to have a classroom library but I never knew there were specific student achievements related to the classroom library.  She reiterates the importance of allowing students choice in reading as well as picking just right books.  I have seen this make a big difference in my classroom.  A few things I would like to change in my own classroom after reading this chapter are to allow my students some say in how our library is organized as well as what books they would like to have. I never really thought to do that before!  We have always discussed books and authors they liked but I never specifically asked them what books they wished we had.  I also want to let the students do more talking about books.  I also see a need for more books on various cultures.  I think it is imperative that students be able to see themselves in the stories they read.  In my case I may need to be writing some books!!  This chapter was very helpful in that it gave me some great new ideas and issues to think about as well as validating some areas that I am already doing.

Amanda Fortenberry - Miller Ch. 2: Why Not? What Works? Why Independent Reading Matters and the Best Practices to Support It

In Chapter 2 of Miller's "No More Independent Reading Without Support," Barbara Moss details the importance of independent reading, the research behind it, and how to make it work for all students.  She notes regardless of the names over the years that 'independent reading' has been identified as (DEAR, SSR, USSR) and now IR, just making it work and using it correctly and effectively is key to creating effective, strategic practices and successful students.  It was a little hard to read as the chapter was jam packed with study after study and filled with data and a plethora of information to reach ALL students...the HOW and the WHY of it all.  Just like the how and why questions in the classroom are hard for our students to answer because they are complex.  That type of work (and read) and its complexity of making it all work is consuming!  However, I feel like we are off to a great start at RES and have supportive measures to make sure we are effective; but we HAVE to keep reading about being effective and being supportive because that's what we are teaching our readers to do.  Moss makes that evident in chapter 2 when she adds, "Good readers read.  Poor readers don't read."  The phrase "practice makes perfect" we know all too well.  This chapter parallels the importance of reading as adult readers and teachers of readers; that we need to practice reading everyday...for ourselves and others; hence the name 'supportive independent reading.'  I gathered from reading the effectiveness of modeling different strategies everyday with different genres, text varieties (newspaper, email, chapter books, etc) as well as with the things we like to read is important for us to grow in everyday life and should be equally important for our students.  She pushes and validates the importance of complex reads to help us grow and I feel that chapter 2 was a little complex, but I'm growing in that fact that when we are stretched to think outside the box, then we expand our knowledge and our need for growing.  Does that stretch make life difficult sometimes? Yes!  The process grows us and we should use the parallel of that stretch to grow our readers.  We need to grow ourselves and our students in everything we read.  Moss connects hair (yes our hair) and it's need to be volumizing instead of flat, boring, etc...to the need for volume in books with our students as she states, "By increasing reading volume, students can improve reading achievement."  BAM!  Ok.  Perfect sense and she explains how to make it happen in chapter 2.  The chapter is filled with a plethora of information to reach all readers: ESOL, the struggling reader, the one who is having trouble with comprehension, or fluency, vocabulary, engagement, etc.  I liked reading this chapter though and really studying the framework of HOW to make it work for ALL students.  All of the studies she gave just validates the importance and that IR really works.  Moss makes perfect sense of saying "Children need the chance to practice reading everyday, not just when their work is finished."  I agree with allowing student choice with an "access to a wide range of materials on a variety of topics and interests."  Another interesting read in this chapter is that "common core" is the new reason to effective practice and the teaching of reading to grow independent readers because "the [common core] standards argue that current practices have not done enough to foster independent reading of complex text; especially informational texts."  I'm looking forward to using the studies in this chapter and the information to 'inform' the readers in my class.  So yay!  Looks like I'll be reading over common core standards again along with this book because that's what good readers do...they read and reread, but I'll also pick my other books to keep up my enthusiasm for reading and to decompress during the complex readings.  Happy Reading!

Sabrina Fair - Miller Ch. 1: Not This: Is There Enough Time?

Is There Enough Time?  This is a good question, and it is often on the minds of teachers.  We have so much to fit into one day, that it often feels impossible to get to everything we need to do.   However, if we really analyzed our use of time we would find that we have more time than we previously thought.  

I think we’re guilty of some of the things the author pointed out.  I believe we lose a lot of time with transitions and unnecessary activities.  For example, morning work tends to be busy work and usually goes on much longer than it should.  It is true that we need time to do attendance, lunch count, collect returned notes and forms, and receipt money, but do we need 30 - 45 minutes to do so?  This is definitely one way that I would recoup some time if I were teaching in a regular classroom because I realize my students spent too much time on work that was of little or no value. 

There are other activities that deserve a second glance.  How long should we spend on calendar activities and announcements?   Is there a more efficient way to line up or take bathroom breaks? By revising some of our activities, we will be able to carve out time for things that are important.

Sabrina Fair- Routman Chapter 5: Organizing a Classroom Library

I agree with so many things that R. Routman discussed in chapter 5.   The most important part was the allocation of funds for classroom libraries.   We know the importance of classroom libraries in a balanced literacy environment.  Classroom libraries need a wide variety of choices and levels to align with the needs of the students.  Like many teachers, I’ve spent tons of my own money to build a classroom library that would be inviting, engaging and useful to my students.  I’ve accepted many donations and spent lots of Scholastic Bonus points to purchase books, and yet I still feel that it is inadequate to support student learning.   I believe that if we are going to have an authentic balanced literacy environment, we must do as Routman suggests, and lobby for the funds to build our classroom libraries.

Routman also makes a good point about the emphasis of leveled books in the classroom.  I have found that teaching students to select “just-right” books is most helpful.   In my classroom, we’ve always used the old 5-finger rule.  And, for most students, it worked!  

I also agree with involving students in library design.  It is something I would need to do if had the opportunity to set up another classroom library.  It is hard for me give up the idea of what I think the classroom library should look like and I would be challenged to not give my weekly speech about putting books back in the right place.  However, by giving up some control and let students make decisions, my students will have a sense of ownership and be more likely to use the classroom library often because they understand its design.

Meghan Blick - "Emphasize Shared Reading" (Routman: Chapter 9)

     After reading Routman’s Chapter 9, “Emphasize Shared Reading,”  I feel validated in my attempts to incorporate shared reading during my reading block and across content areas.  I love reading professional texts that are easy to understand and that give me simple ways to implement strategies in my classroom.  That is exactly what Routman does in Chapter 9!  
     I find myself using shared reading quite a bit in my classroom. I love shared reading because it is an interactive experience where students feel confident because there is great support through the reading. I also appreciate that shared reading allows students to enjoy texts that they may not be successful in reading on their own.  Sometimes I question myself…”Is this worth my time?” or “Should they be following along with me or reading on their own?” I have found that shared reading is an important component of my mini lesson.  Following the shared reading, the students often transition into guided reading groups or independent reading and conferencing.  I agree with Routman that when attention is given to shared reading, guided practice and independent practice is much more meaningful!
     Routman states “shared reading typically improves reading achievement.”   I love that Routman gives practical ways to use shared reading to introduce literary genres, informational texts, or to just simply enjoy a picture book together.  As teachers, we must think ahead about what we want to model for our students.  It is important for us to remember that the purpose of shared reading is not only reading the words together.  Routman suggests that teachers use shared reading to demonstrate and discuss the following:

• Fluency

• Author’s Craft

• How to figure out vocabulary

• Character Motivation

• Confirming

• How to read nonfiction

• How texts work

• Summarizing

• Predicting

• Asking questions

• Making connections

• Inferring

• Learning new information

• Enjoying reading

  Throughout the chapter, Routman includes a framework for shared reading that is applicable across grade levels and content areas, the advantages of shared reading, and purposes for shared reading.  Routman also includes questioning and modeling strategies that teachers can easily incorporate with any text.  This chapter is wonderful for anyone looking for new ways to use shared reading!  

Meghan Blick - "Is There Enough Time" (Miller: Chapter 1)

In reading Miller’s first chapter, “Is There Enough Time,"  I began to reflect on the issue I have always had - finding the time to get everything done.  It is my goal to the most of every minute in my classroom.  First of all,  we know that for our children to become better readers, we must allow for them to read!  And not only read, but to have meaningful conversations with others about their reading.  One of my greatest professional (and personal) weaknesses is having a long to-do list, but constantly stressing about there not being enough time.  Most days, I look at my lesson plans and think, “Wow!  Is that all I did today?” or “If only I had a few more hours!”  In the past, I have planned activities that Miller would consider “benches” that I have been guarding.  A few “benches” I would like address is the time spent on morning work, transitions, lining up, and reading block activities.           

     This year I have time designated each day for independent reading.  After a short mini lesson, the students are able to apply the strategies taught through independent reading and responding.  As the students are reading and responding, I conference with a few students each day.  I love these moments where I get to sit down on the rug and hear the student read and apply the strategies we have learned.  It is truly my favorite part of the day.  However, I still find myself stressing about the things that did not get done.  But I must remind myself, if my students are engaged in reading and are holding meaningful conversations about reading, they will become better readers!  These moments are valuable - much more valuable than my previous reading block that consisted of many activities that Miller suggests are not necessarily beneficial (test prep material, center activities that took way too long to prepare, answering end of the story comprehension questions, endless browsing for the “just right" book, and completing assignments on computer programs - can I get an amen for no more Mimio?).  I think back to these activities and cannot tell you that the students truly benefitted.  I really didn’t know my children as readers during that time.     

     The truth is, there is enough time for independent reading and conferencing. We have to make it happen.  Here’s to books, independent reading, meaningful conversations, and growth!  

Kristin Roddy- Routman Ch. 4: Teach with a Sense of Urgency

After reading Miller Section 1 I realized just how many things I include in my day that take away from precious instructional time. So after reading that chapter I decided it would be my personal goal to eliminate as many of these "time suckers" as possible. Then I came across Routman Chapter 4. "Teach with a Sense of Urgency". This I believe is sometimes interpreted differently, and I believe the interpretation differs based on where we are in the school year. Come mid April teachers are running through units like their lives depend on it. We have reached that "urgent" time in the year where we all begin to panic and in turn we start piling on the work. This isn't a beneficial sense of urgency. You don't want to wait to come to that moment in the year where you feel like your are running a relay. Teaching with a sense of urgency is something you do from day one. You realize what is most important in the day, and you stick to the task. You make sure your days are full of quality lessons, and you focus on getting the "biggest bang for your buck". You eliminate all unnecessary things. Another way I looked at this was I felt that teaching with urgency could also mean spreading the feeling of importance and joy to your students. Making them see learning as joyful and important will have a positive impact on their experience. 

Kristin Roddy- Miller Section 1: Not This: Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?

There is never enough time in the day to get everything done and more importantly, done effectively. I am constantly asking myself if I have achieved the quality of the lesson that I had initially hoped. It is always our intentions to go into each day ready to conquer the world. We want to positively impact our students' lives daily. We want to ignite that spark of interest within each of them. However, with the lack of time our days and sometime even our morale has become more of a "just survive the day" feeling.
It was not necessary when Miller began to describe the lack of time in the school day.This is nothing that any of us have not heard before a million times over. What I did like about the chapter was that it opened my eyes to some of the small routines I do each day that actually are wasting precious time. It had me thinking about transitions, morning work, and things like the morning show. One day after reading this chapter I kept track of the time we spent just changing from one subject's notebook to the next. 12 minutes! We lost 12 precious minutes just having to stop and get out each subject's notebook in order to make it through our day. Well, we now have binders!
It is my personal goal this year to make sure I am able to eliminate all unnecessary things in the classroom. We don't have a minute to spare, and I don't want to throw away time on small petty things like irrelevant morning work. Most of the time we don't have time to even review the morning work. So truthfully, how beneficial can it be?

Lynn Flake Blog #1 -- Chapter 1 Routman

Simple? I've learned pretty quickly that teaching is anything but simple. This chapter title really caught my attention. When people ask me how the school year is going, either tell them "It's great!" but only because I'm sure they don't want to hear about how overwhelmed I usually feel. -- Like a duck, cool and calm on the surface, right? And while, I wouldn't trade teaching for anything in the entire world, I'd also try ANYTHING to simplify it. I don't want to lose the joy, and I feel like some days it is a fight to find and keep the joy.

The "There Is No One 'Right' or Best Way" section really spoke to me -- or maybe it was even about me? When I sit and think about my plans, I usually walk away feeling pretty great about them. Then I find out that someone else is doing something different and I start to wonder if my way is ok, or if I need to change it. I know reflection is great, and we always adjust while collaborating with our peers, which is also a great practice. This section made me feel a little more validated when it comes to planning what is best for my class and my personal teaching style. 

I typed out the "Focus On What Matters Most" list on pg 7 and put it on my desk. At the end of the day, every moment of every day, those are the things that should be my priority. The list of things that tend to get in the way of our teaching was really eye opening, and completely right. There are ways that we can simplify things, and the first part of that is making sure that our focus is always on our students. 

Lynn Flake Blog #2 --- Reading Essentials Chapter 5

I've put a ton of work into my classroom library, but I want to make sure that it isn't just something that looks great in my classroom, but is actually a good resource for my students. I picked this chapter because I was hoping to gain some validation, and maybe some new insights into a making meaningful library. I feel really good about my classroom reading spaces and practices. However, I feel like my students still prefer to go to the main library, or turn to technology for their reading purposes, despite all the new books I've added through grants.

I think that involving students in the design and organization process is a great idea. It would allow my students to take ownership of our library, and better understand the plethora of books available to them. I think I am also going to allow students to request books that they really enjoy or feel that they need. I really like the idea about doing an inventory sheet of what topics and authors the kids would like to have. I might start to focus on more nonfiction texts that relate to our standards. I'd really love to see my students using both books and technology for research. 

Shayna Miller Post #2 - Routman Chapter 3 (Share Your Reading Life)

I enjoyed reading this chapter! I learned many good habits I need to start in my own classroom as well as things we are already doing as a school. I share with my students how I love to read and how yes, I do choose to read for fun on the weekends! However, I have never taken it a step further to really share my reading with them. I like the idea of sharing the books I have read, am reading, or planning on reading. I believe this would help me connect with my students more as readers and it may even motivate some of my students to read more. If I can share all of the interesting books I am reading, they may realize that there are some awesome stories out there that they will be able to read some day! I would love to put some time to the side every now and then to have a talk about the books we are reading for fun and share our books with each other.

As Routman discussed tracking her reading, I was thinking how our school is doing this for their book logs. Just as she stated, tracking pages read daily can be tedious, but tracking books we have read after we finish them can give us a sense of accomplishment. This is exactly what I have seen happen with our students tracking their books after they finish them. I cannot count how many times I have had students run up to me to show me how many books are on their book log. They are very proud of their accomplishments in reading and it motivates them to read even further. It even has me thinking that maybe I need to start a reading record of my own! This would be another great thing I could share with my students as my list grows as well.

Shayna Miller Post #1: Miller Section 1 (Is There Enough Time?)

Reading this first section really opened my eyes to all of the time spent on things other than instruction. Some of the time spent on transitions may seem little at the time, but when it is all put together, we miss out on a lot of instructional time because we are not always efficient with our transitions. I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on how exactly I ask my students to transition and how much time it takes.

I like that the author states "Unguided choice and lack of monitoring can mean that students see struggle while reading as their own permanent deficiency" (pg. 8). I believe this is something all teachers should hear and try to understand. Most often, when a child is placed in resource for reading, they already believe that they cannot read. Many of my students do not like reading simply because it is difficult for them. It is even more difficult to help a reader progress when they have in their mind that reading is not for them. I find myself focusing more on teaching students how to actually love reading because they struggle with progressing without that love. I love how this first section addresses this problem and states how guiding students to find a 'just right' book is crucial. We want to give our students choice of the kinds of books they read so they are interested and motivated, but we must also teach them and guide them in how to pick out the right books as well. Supporting our students' reading also means helping set them up for successful reading.

Beth Lovett Post #2: Routman chapter 8 comprehension

For my first post I read Miller’s section 2 which talked about teacher practices that are critical to successful independent reading in the classroom and I mentioned that I felt one of my weaknesses was the practice of giving students explicit instruction about what, why, and how readers read.  Therefore, for my second assignment I decided to jump into Routman’s chapter 8: Teach Comprehension.  The first piece of advice here is to balance explicit instruction of comprehension with lots of time for application.  I love that!  She suggests a 20% to 80% rule – one fifth of the period can be dedicated to explicit strategy instruction and the remaining four fifths is for application of the strategy while reading.  In the past I’ve sometimes felt guilty that I’m not giving enough time to instruction of strategies and that I’m allowing too much time for reading, however, I now feel better after having read this suggested rule.

We know the official reading strategies we should teach.  We’ve seen the research.  Proficient readers make connections, monitor for meaning, determine importance, visualize, ask questions, make inferences, summarize, and synthesize to generate new ideas. This author suggests that we should first evaluate what we do as a reader and then make that process visible to students.  Do we reread?  Do we highlight important text? Do you skim first?  Do you pause and think, read aloud, or talk to yourself?  Routman states “We need to think deeply about our own reading processes, and trust what we do as a reader to guide our teaching.”  What I love (again) is that she then  goes on to list several important strategies we should be acknowledging and teaching to our students PLUS gives us suggestions of things to do in the classroom to model them!  Her list includes

1.       Teach Rereading as the single most useful strategy.

2.       Use writing to help recall key points.  Show students what to underline or highlight.  Teach them to write about their thinking in the margins or on sticky notes.

3.       Teach students to survey text before they begin to read.

4.       Make connections.  Don’t teach this strategy in isolation.  It should be routinely demonstrated and practiced as part of the total reading experience.

5.       Teach self-monitoring.  Routman says students should constantly be asking Does this make sense?  Do I know what is happening in the text?  She even shares a 14 point questionnaire that students can use to monitor their own comprehension.

6.       Talk to yourself to aid understanding.

7.       Interact with peers to increase comprehension and enjoyment.  This was another area I felt was a weakness of mine as mentioned in my first article.  Chapter 9 is all about this.

8.       Use texts that are easy enough and meaningful enough to support comprehension.

9.       Keep fluency in perspective.

10.   Teach students how to ask significant questions.

As she ends the chapter, Routman points out that while it is useful to practice a strategy as students are learning it, we must make sure that most of our comprehension instruction uses strategies interactively.  We need to demonstrate how to use these strategies as a part of our unconscious reading process.  I found this chapter beneficial and I especially appreciate the “Try It/Apply It” sections after each strategy discussed.

Tara Burgess- Blog #2

Routman    Chapter 1-- Simplify Your Teaching Life

     I chose this chapter because of its title, "Simplify your Teaching Life".  I hear that and automatically think teaching and a simplified life don't go together.   Teaching involves many students on different levels with different strengths and weaknesses with different attitudes, home lives, and experiences.  How can you simplify a job that involves so much diversity??  Also, teaching does involve more than just teaching and takes up a lot of extra time outside of the normal work day. Teachers work at least 12 hours a day during the week and that doesn't include weekends.  How can it be simplified?  This statement from the chapter is so true: "None of this is possible if we're constantly exhausted from an overstuffed curriculum and have no time to collaborate, reflect, and renew ourselves".  That is so true.  As a teacher, we need time to talk and work things through so we can be the best teachers we can be (feel the success of our labor) without having more put on our plate that drags our enthusiasm down.  Think about what we are wanting for our kids today in school; an environment where students work together to solve problems and feel successful.  I believe it needs to be true for teachers as well.

     One thing I do believe is that there isn't one right way to teach.  In this chapter it says that the best way to teach depends on the students you are teaching.  Exactly.  All classrooms can't be taught the same things in the same way.  Teachers have to take what needs to be taught and present it the best way possible to the students they have.  I have been teaching for 18 years, and I always find myself asking if I am doing it right. Should I be doing what another fourth grade teacher is doing instead of what I am doing?  I need to not worry about am I doing this right, but am I doing what my kids need to be successful.  What works in one classroom, won't work in them all because the students (and teachers) are different.  

     "We need to get back to the basics of what really matter in teaching and learning".  We have to remember in the end what truly matters: educating our future and making them all lifelong learners.

Teelah Harris- Blog #2- Share you reading life

After the August after school meeting, reading children's book has been on my mind.  During the meeting, we were asked to post a book that we were reading or had read onto the Padlet.  Well, I read a lot during the summer, but it is often not something I would share with my class.  So after reading this article, I was sure that I needed to share with my class.  So after reading this article,  I was sure that I needed to share more with my kids what I am reading.

I specifically like the section about sharing how I may read more than one book at a time.  Just this week after conferencing with a student, I discovered that he enjoys reading two books.  He takes one of the books he checks out and keeps it home for his reading log.   While the others stay in his book basket in the classroom.  As adults, we often read more than one book without thinking about it. Currently, I am reading parts of the Bible,  textbooks for this class, and a book recommended by a student.

When reading about records, I originally thought that idea would be crazy considering I'm an adult and I can hold myself accountable for reading.  But, after reading the purpose of the reading record, I could see where it could be helpful for keeping a balance.  As a teacher, if I began to keep a reading record, I could share with students the importance of a record,

I totally agree with Routman about bringing the pleasure back into reading.  It ties to what we discussed in the after school meeting.  Students want to choose what they read in order to read for pleasure.  Sometimes when we tie too many assignments to what students read, its takes the fun out of it.  We, as adults, forget about the feeling we feel with the joy is taken out of things we love.

Overall, I think it is important to remember that students look up to their teachers as role models.  We notice when they dress like us, act like us, or even speak like us.  So, when we share our reading lives with them, we will soon notice them reading like us.

Angie Smith - Blog Post #2: Routman Ch. 12 "You Only Have So Much Time"

"The elusive balanced life remains a mirage.  Your time is valuable.  Spend it in the most meaningful, productive ways possible."  I tell my husband at least once per week that I want to be more productive.  I want to work smarter and not harder.  I believe that Routman lays out some very practical and meaningful advice in this chapter on becoming a more effective teacher through meaningful planning and scheduling.

Another quote that stood out to me was, "We are not only role models for learning, we are role models for living." What struck me most about this statement was not the role model I am for my students, but the role model that I am for my personal children.  They see that I work until 6:00, 7:00, even 7:30 on Friday evenings.  They see the bag of work that I bring home to finish on the weekends and how I spend countless hours at the kitchen table working instead of enjoying my time with them.  I want to be a better role model for my two children.  I want them to see that there can be a balance between work life and personal life.

Routman discusses the importance of creating literacy tasks that are meaningful and motivate students to become readers and writers.  She also states that teachers should keep work simple.  I often try to make lessons more involved than needed.  My special needs students need simple activities that are highly engaging, but brief because of their limited ability to sustain attention.  By reflecting on what matters most for my students, I have found areas of improvement in my schedule, instructional practices, and planning practices.  I desire to make the most of every single moment that I have with my students each day.  By making some simple yet meaningful changes, I believe that I can be a more effective teacher by becoming a teacher who is less stressed!

Miller- Chapter 1- October Blog (Manderfield)

Blog Post October

In Miller’s first section, “Is There Enough Time? And Is Time Enough to Support Independent Reading?” it really hit me how much wasted time I spend in class each day.  Although, I know I’m not the only one, this chapter really made me step back and analyze things I need to work on in my classroom.  I feel like adjusting and making your classroom better is an endless cycle as we constantly are putting more and more thought into how to better our classrooms to help our students. 

            I had to laugh at quite a few parts during this chapter, because I have already created some of these habits of unsuccessfully managing my time as a teacher.  Not only do I do some of these things in my classroom, but I remember many of my teachers doing some of these things too.  However, until we grow professionally, you may be doing these things unintentionally.  There are so many precious minutes that could be spent teaching or in this case, independently reading, while they are wasted away taking 15 minutes to pack up at the end of the day, calling students to line up by category, or taking twenty plus minutes doing a calendar activity. 

            It’s important to re-adjust your schedule after reading a professional book like this; I feel that teachers are also always learning and growing just like our students are.  This is something I definitely need to work on in my own classroom and figure out where I can create more time. 

            This was a perfect chapter for me to choose to read because lately I have been thinking about my time management in classroom and always thinking that there is “never enough time in the day to get everything done.”  I definitely need to use my time more wisely in order to create more instructional time for my students. 

            One point that stuck out to me while reading was the fact that independent reading and conferencing should be a separate time from guided reading and rotations.  Independent reading is more valued and more of a learning experience when it is quiet, and everyone is doing the same thing.  That way, you are free to move around the room and conference with different students, while creating teaching moments right then and there.

            I found this chapter to be an encouragement and eye-opener for my classroom.

Tara Burgess- Blog #1

Routman- Chapter 5--- Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library

     I choose to read and respond to this chapter first because this is something that I have been working on over the last 6 months.  Last year especially, I noticed how my class didn't seem to use my classroom library like I would like.  I believe that this was due to the fact that I didn't have my books organized in a way that made it easy for them to find books they were interested in, the books I had were not the most current titles that students want to see and read, the rug I had was only big enough for about four people to use comfortably, and books were not leveled.  I decided that I needed to do something to bring my classroom library back to life.  Over the summer I got a new big rug, four new book shelves, and baskets galore.  I set up baskets by genre and labeled every book by genre and its level.  I am working on gaining new, current books that will draw students in.  Today my students enjoy being in our classroom library to read and select books to read, but I know it can be better.
     In this chapter, the importance of a classroom library is discussed.  One statement that was made that I 100 percent believe is that "books contribute more strongly to reading achievement than any computer software does".  Nothing is better than holding the printed word in your hand and having it come to life right in front of you.  The love of reading can't be developed or encouraged if you don't have the correct materials--- a ton of books.  This chapter also states that an excellent library will have over one thousand books. I am not sure that I agree with one thousand for a classroom of 20 students when the school has a library as well.  I think it is important to have the books easily available in the school for students to get, which I think Roebuck does well through our school library and classroom libraries.
    One thing mentioned that I think would be great to do is have the school library open during the summer at times for kids to come and get books.  When kids are home over the summer, books are not usually on their minds because of the lack of books available to them on their level at home.  Opening the library occasionally would give them a place to get books and remind them of the importance of reading year round--- not just during school months.
 

Routman- Chapter 12 August/September Blog (Manderfield)

Blog Post August/September

In Routman’s chapter on “You Only Have So Much Time,” was a refreshing read.  I also feel that the demands of teaching are never-ending.  As a first year teacher, I knew that this year would be stressful and tiring.  I have heard over and over from many teachers, new and old, “Do not stay late” or “You need to go home.”  It is so hard to listen and to go home and rest.  Lesson plans, copies, grading, and paperwork somehow still will continue to grow bigger and bigger until I get to it.  It seems like things can’t slow down or be put on hold when there are things that need to get done by the time the students come in the next morning. 

However, after reading this article, it is explained how much your time away from work is much needed.  One of Routman’s quote really stuck out to me, “I think it’s because we all want to “have a life” but feel overburdened with demanding responsibilities and tasks.  We need to stop feeling guilty if we leave school at a reasonable hour so e have time for our families.” This is something I have come to the realization of this year, until recently I have been able to leave or go to bed when I can’t do anything else.  There is only so much time and energy in a day, and things can in fact wait.  I completely agree with the “live an interesting life” section because we are not only teachers by content, but we are teaching students by being positive role models as well; it is important to show our students a well-rounded person.  I have also realized that the nights I went to bed earlier and watched a TV show instead of grading that last stack of papers, I was in turn in a much better mood the next day! J

            Another important point Routman made from this chapter was not wasting your time or the students’ time.  Endless amounts of worksheets, figuring out numerous centers, and planning activities that do not teach or benefit the students reading or writing, is a waste of both of our times.  Instead of creating multiple centers and activities that do not mean much to our students, we should be creating lessons that are related to students and are time-effective.  Instead of dragging out a writing lesson, hit the points you want to make with a few good examples and be done.  In order to keep the students engaged, creating engaging lessons that are to the point is when the students will be most focused.

            I feel like this chapter was a great choice for me at this point in the year.  It had a lot of good ideas as well as some that were also reassuring.

Beth Lovett's Post 1: Miller Section 2

I didn’t intend for this to be so long but I guess I got into it more than I expected I would!  After participating in a book study on Guiding Readers and Writers by Fountas and Pinnell I decided to start with the Miller/Moss book, section 2: Why Independent Reading Matters and the Best Practices to Support It.  I started using the reading workshop method two years ago and I’m constantly trying to improve the function of this in my classroom so I was particularly interested in the Best Practices part of this chapter.  I already know that independent reading in the classroom is essential and improves student achievement.  I already know that students need the opportunity to select what they read and they need access to a wide range of reading materials.  My struggles come with the remaining needs of students (as listed in this chapter):  explicit instruction about what, why, and how readers read; teacher assessment and support during independent reading; and that students need to talk about what they read.

What I’ve learned related to the struggles mentioned above and will improve on in my classroom:  (1) Miller notes that students need exposure to a variety of genres and genre-specific reading instruction.  Students need to have exposure to more than one type of literature so they can learn the variety of ways authors use different tools and structures to communicate ideas. Students need to track their genre encounters.  I will do a better job of exposing my students to books that represent each of the genres instead of only teaching genre definitions. I like the genre wheel from p. 20 and will copy that for my students to use.  (2) I really need to model how to talk about texts.  The author states that “Text discussions can enhance critical thinking, metacognition, and the ability to structure arguments.” Also, in section 3 it states that “talking about texts together not only improves comprehension and makes children aware of how they can use strategies according to the kind of text and the demands it places on them as readers, but also motivates them to read independently so that they’ll have something to talk about with their peers.”  Read alouds are an excellent time to model meaningful talk about books.  (3) I need to be more consistent with my student conferences.  Miller and Moss state that “Conferring during independent reading time can be a meaningful way to make students accountable, provide individual help and guidance, and assess reading progress.”  Successful teacher behaviors in conferences can involve the teacher responding to student questions; teacher-led discussions of books; teacher monitoring and modeling of comprehension strategies; feedback on students’ reading; an evaluation of fluency; goal setting for text completion and future reading.  In addition, it can be a time when students choose how he/she will respond to the text when finished reading.  This is another new activity that I want to try.  Instead of constantly having students either take an AR test or write a reading response, I’d like to give them the opportunity to share in a more artistic way what they’ve gleaned from the book.  Examples can include art work, music, technology, drama, etc.  We are a steAm school after all.

I’m anxious to continue reading section 3 of this book.  I’ve jumped into it a little during this first sit-down and I notice a section with 10 “Tactics Teachers Can Use to Keep Things Hopping During IR.”  This looks like a concise list of how to successfully implement independent reading into any classroom.  It sounds like a good motivational poster for the teacher desk!